‘Now broach me a cask of Malvoisie,
Bring pasty from the doe;’
said the Duchess. ‘That has been my luncheon.’
‘A poetic repast,’ said Lady Theresa.
‘Their breeds of sheep must have been very inferior in old days,’ said Lord Everingham, ‘as they made such a noise about their venison. For my part I consider it a thing as much gone by as tilts and tournaments.’
‘I am sorry that they have gone by,’ said Lady Theresa.
‘Everything has gone by that is beautiful,’ said Lord Henry.
‘Life is much easier,’ said Lord Everingham.
‘Life easy!’ said Lord Henry. ‘Life appears to me to be a fierce struggle.’
‘Manners are easy,’ said Coningsby, ‘and life is hard.’
‘And I wish to see things exactly the reverse,’ said Lord Henry. ‘The means and modes of subsistence less difficult; the conduct of life more ceremonious.’